Jornal de Bioengenharia e Tecnologia Médica

Exoskeleton Mechanism for Foot Drop Causes

Tsirkas A. Sotirios*, Kanigaridou Despina, Basioti Vlasia, Grammatikopoulos Spyridon, Koutsojannis Constantinos

Design and analysis of an active ankle orthosis, which will help the gait cycle of people who have difficulties performing the lower limb’s dorsiflexion movement; this condition is called foot drop. Foot drop is a weakness or damage of the common peroneal nerve, including the sciatic nerve, or paralysis of the muscles in the anterior part of the lower leg. Active orthoses consist of moving parts with external power applied for motion. In the proposed exoskeleton, the selection of motors to provide torque to the ankle joint enables the lower limb to be raised. Also, a flex sensor controls the motion. Composite materials were used to increase the strength of the exoskeleton and reduce the weight. A Finite Element model was developed to investigate the forces’ effect during the walking cycle on the proposed mechanism. The idea was to construct a small, consumer-appealing, and active orthosis, enabling comfortable daily usage and rehabilitation.